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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Evening · Friday, 27 February 2026 · Ordinary Time

We hear God's CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 117:1-2

Praise the Lord, all you nations:
laud him, all you peoples.
For his mighty love is over us:
the Lord is faithful forever.
Hallelujah.

We listen in silence for God's still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God's presence within us and around us

We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Ambrose of Milan

O Lord, you have mercy upon all — take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow and to enjoy you, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

We PRAISE God in the EVENING PSALMPsalm 141:1-3 · Domine, clamavi

1Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me, *
and consider my voice when I cry to you.

2Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as the incense; *
and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

3Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, *
and keep the door of my lips.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father
    and to the Son
    and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
    is now and ever shall be,
    world without end.
Amen.

We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 81:6–13 · Exultate Deo

6I heard an unfamiliar voice saying, *
“I eased his shoulder from the burden; *
his hands were set free from bearing the load.”

7You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *
I answered you from the secret place of thunder *
and tested you at the waters of Meribah.

8Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: *
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9There shall be no strange god among you; *
you shall not worship a foreign god.

10I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

11And yet my people did not hear my voice, *
and Israel would not obey me.

12So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *
to follow their own devices.

13Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayDeuteronomy 5:6–10

Friday, 27 February 2026 · Ordinary Time

6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

7“You shall have no other gods before me.

8“You shall not make a carved image for yourself—any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me 10and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Deuteronomy 5:6–10 · the full passage, Deuteronomy 5:1–21.

We REFLECT in silence

We sing to God in THE CANTATE DOMINOPsalm 98 · Cantate Domino

1O sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvelous things.

2With his own right hand and with his holy arm *
he has won himself the victory.

3The Lord declared his salvation; *
his righteousness he has openly shown in the sight of the nations.

4He has remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.

5Show yourselves joyful to the Lord, all you lands; *
sing, rejoice, and give thanks.

6Praise the Lord upon the harp; *
sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.

7With trumpets also and the sound of the horn, *
O show yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.

8Let the sea make a noise, and all that is in it, *
the round world, and those who dwell therein.

9Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, *
for he has come to judge the earth.

10With righteousness shall he judge the world, *
and the peoples with equity.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father
    and to the Son
    and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
    is now and ever shall be,
    world without end.
Amen.

We pray the LORD'S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us

Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of Thomas à Kempis

Grant me, most loving Lord, to rest in you above every creature; above all health and beauty; above all glory and honor; above all power and dignity; above all knowledge and skill; above all riches and arts; above all joy and exultation; above all fame and praise; above all sweetness and consolation; above all hope and promise; above all merit and desire; above all gifts and rewards which you can give and pour forth; above all joy and jubilation which the mind is able to receive and feel; in a word, above angels and archangels and all the army of heaven; above all things visible and invisible; and above everything which you, my God, are not. Amen.

We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER

Followed by

Amen

We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.

Amen.